望尽天涯路

望盡天涯路

wàngjìntiānyálù

phrase

Meanings

1 to gaze to the very end of the road at the edge of the sky
2 fig. to stare into the far distance with searching eyes
3 third line of Yan Shu's 蝶恋花, reused by Wang Guowei as the first stage of great endeavor

Characters

to the end / exhausting

Examples

独上高楼，望尽天涯路。

Dú shàng gāolóu, wàng jìn tiānyá lù.

Alone I climb the high tower, gazing to the end of the horizon road.

寻找真爱，就像望尽天涯路，不知归期。

Xúnzhǎo zhēn'ài, jiù xiàng wàng jìn tiānyá lù, bùzhī guīqī.

Looking for true love is like gazing to the end of the horizon road, not knowing when it ends.

Tips

history

From Yan Shu's (晏殊) Song ci 《蝶恋花》: 昨夜西风凋碧树，独上高楼，望尽天涯路。 — 'Last night the west wind withered the emerald trees; alone I climb the high tower, gazing to the end of the horizon road.' Wang Guowei in 《人间词话》 appropriated these three lines as the FIRST of three 'stages of great endeavor' — the stage of lonely, searching vision that precedes any true effort.

usage

Literary and slightly melancholic. Always part of the trio 昨夜西风凋碧树，独上高楼，望尽天涯路. Invoked in essays on scholarship, searching, and long journeys.

Stroke Order

望 wàng

尽 jǐn

天 tiān

涯 yá

路 lù